For those who had doubts about the love of the sport in many of the so called weaker counties, they need only have looked at the scenes that unfolded in the aftermath of Westmeath’s Leinster final victory over Dublin on Sunday afternoon.

With the mindlanders winning just their second ever provincial title, there was a huge outpouring of emotion on the back of the win at Croke Park. It was a special moment for a county that have not had a lot to cheer about down through the years.

Despite this, there are no doubts about the GAA obsession within Westmeath.

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Joe Brolly sums up ‘fanatical’ Westmeath support

While Westmeath have not always competed at the top table of the GAA, their remained a real grá for the sport within the county.

Speaking on the Free State podcast, Joe Brolly recalled how he was given a stark introduction to the Westmeath footballing community when attending a club event with Conor Moore (aka impressionist Conor Sketches) a number of years ago:

I was delighted for Westmeath. They’re a big football county, very fanatical.

Conor Moore is fanatical and a great club man. He invited me to one of those great club nights a number of years ago in some hotel in Mullingar. It was absolutely mental, really it was mental.

They were standing on the table, they were cheering and roaring.

It went on until all hours of the morning. The Guards arrived at about 3:30am and were told to ‘f**k off’ in no uncertain terms!

Sounds like a great night.

The people of Westmeath will certainly have plenty to celebrate over the coming months, although they will be keen to back up their Leinster title triumph with a good run in the All-Ireland series this summer.

They face Cavan in the opening round in Mullingar on May 30th.

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